Tag Archives: Astronomy

The Sky is Not the Limit

Posted on September 21, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Sky is not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist © 2004 Neil deGrasse Tyson203 pages           How does a young black kid from the Bronx become a world-famous astrophysicist, Director of the Hayden Planetarium and the … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: the cosmos, Jane Austen, zombies, and the Middle Way

Posted on May 9, 2013 by smellincoffee

— Minireviews —  Some zombies like to lurch about groaning for brains. Some zombies like to ride the escalators, listen to Frank Sinatra, and daydream about their past life. That’s R,  a zombie who has forgotten most of his life, … Continue reading →

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The Sun’s Heartbeat

Posted on September 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Sun’s Heartbeat: and Other Stories from the Life of the Star that Powers Our Planet2011 pages290 pages Consider the sun. For thousands of generations, it has loomed over our kind, radiating heat and light down from above, illuminating our … Continue reading →

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Death from the Skies!

Posted on January 29, 2012 by smellincoffee

Death from the Skies! These are the Ways the World Will End…© 2008 Phil Plait326 pages By anyone’s standards, 2011 was a banner year for disasters, with Earth’s ful inventory of catastrophes on display. Flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, … Continue reading →

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The Planet that Wasn’t

Posted on October 17, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Planet that Wasn’t© 1976 Isaac Asimov237 pages Isaac Asimov routinely penned science essays in various magazines, and given his eagerness to publish books, often produced collections of said science essays. The Planet that Wasn’t is one such collection, covering … Continue reading →

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The Tragedy of the Moon

Posted on May 4, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Tragedy of the Moon© Isaac Asimov 1978224 pages The Tragedy of the Moon collects seventeen sundry Asimovian essays  which will prove a delight to most Asimov fans.  The essays were originally published in Fantasy and Science Fiction, but have been … Continue reading →

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The Roving Mind

Posted on June 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Roving Mind© Isaac Asimov 1983350 pages In the first place, I type quickly — 90 words a minute, when I am happy, carefree, and in a good mood. And that’s my typing rate when I am composing, too, because I don’t … Continue reading →

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The Cosmic Connection

Posted on October 28, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective© 1973 Carl Sagan273 pages Carl Sagan penned The Cosmic Connection in the interests of communicating his own exhilaration at the human exploration of space. He begins by expressing his appreciating for being alive when … Continue reading →

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Death by Black Hole

Posted on September 10, 2009 by smellincoffee

Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandries© 2007 Neil deGrasse Tyson384 pages Although I’ve encountered Dr. Tyson before — chiefly through interviews in podcasts like The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe and the Humanist Network News — I’ve never … Continue reading →

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Asimov on Astronomy

Posted on June 10, 2009 by smellincoffee

Asimov on Astronomy © 1975 Isaac Asimov 271 pages Although in the back of my mind I knew the existence of Charon was a relatively recent discovery, I did not realize how recent until I read this book and realized … Continue reading →

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